The award committee selected Li’s book based on a variety of criteria, including:

Advancing knowledge about literacy

Raising thought-provoking issues

Successful demonstration of responsible intellectual risk-taking

“This is my second time receiving the award, and it’s very exciting,” said Li, an associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education. “The book disturbs the comfortable feeling of what’s acceptable, and is about critical issues of race, class and gender, as lived by people in the inner-city environment. It’s great to be recognized for this work.”